Adjustable rail support



Feb. 18, 1958 J. H. JENNISON 2,323,365

ADJUSTABLE RAIL SUPPORT Filed June 1, 1955 INVENTOR.

JAMES H. JENNISON BY /@WJWJ ATTORNEYS United States Patent FADJUSTABLEJ'RAIL SUPPORT James H. Jennison Pasadcna, Califl, assignor tothe United States of America as represented by the Secretary of theNavyApplication Junel, 1955, Serial No. 512,593 2 Claims. (Cl. 238-281)(Granted under'Title'SS, U. S. Code (1952), sec. 266) The inventiondescribed herein maybe manufactured and used by or for the-Government ofthe United States of America for governmental purposes without thepayment of any royalties thereon or therefor.

The present invention relates to adjustable ra'il' supports and moreparticularly to adjustable sleepers which provide for rail adjustmentsin vertical, horizontal and rotational directions.

In the use of rails, generally,uand particularly in the use of rails forspecial purposes, as .for example, the

high-speed testing of missiles or other vehicles and for launchingdevices of various types, track alignment is critical and has presenteda continuing 'problem. Prior sleeper devices have provided means foradjustment of rail position but such devices have generallyinvolvedconstructions in which horizontal adjustment could not be madeexcept by the expedient of releasing and readjusting the means for'adjustably clamping the rail in its selected vertical adjustment.

The invention provides an improved rail sleeperyadapted to be embeddedin a concrete foundation'and which is ad vantageous over prior sleeperdevices in that it provides improved means for maintaining alignment, issimpler and less costly in construction, and particularly in that itincludes means whereby vertical and horizontal adjustments can be madeindependently of one another, provided the adjustments are small.

An object of the present invention is the provision of an adjustablerail sleeper which provides means for effecting proper alignment of therails vertically, horizontally, and in rotation.

Another object is to provide such an adjustable rail sleeper in whichthe adjustments can be made independently of one another providing thedistance the rail is moved is quite small.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a rail sleeper ofthe type described, in which the rail can be readjusted whenever it getsout of alignment, using the same techniques as were used to align itoriginally.

Another object of the invention is to provide a clamping and holdingdevice to hold a rail in position without encumbering the rail head orweb which device is capable of resistance to large forces applied to therail in any lateral direction without appreciable deflection ordistortion and which will not loosen when subjected to rapidly appliedloads and vibrations.

Other objects and features of the invention will become apparent tothose skilled in the art as the disclosure is made in the followingdetailed description of a preferred embodiment of the invention asillustrated in the accompanying sheet of drawing wherein:

Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of a preferred embodiment of theinvention as used in supporting a rail, with portions of the devicebroken away and shown in section to better show the relationship andnature of the component parts. This view is taken looking in thedirection of the arrow 1 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the device shown 2,823,866 PatentedFeb. 18, 1958 2 in Fig. 1, with a portion of the base flange of thesupporting beam broken away to show the web and the back flange of theI-beam element.

Fig. 3 is a top view of the device looking in the direction of thearrow3 of Fig. 2.

Referring now to the drawing, wherein like reference charactersdesignate like or corresponding parts throughout the several views,there is shown a base plate 1010 which the lower ends of a pair ofspaced vertical tubes 11, 11a are welded, the tubes having horizontalbars and 12 welded thereto, parallel to the baseplate and positioned atthe tube end opposite the baseplate and at an intermediate position,respectively. A vertically extending I-section 23 is welded to the sidesof bars 12, 12a which are remote from the tubes and in aposition betweenthe tubes 11, 11a, said section 23 beingtherefore in a position betweenthe tubes, but offset-from the plane of the tubes. The lower ends of. apair of verticalbolts 13, 13a extend through the tubesll, 11a and'threadedly engage base plate 10, as shown inFig- 1, there being anannular space S around eachbolt. Obviously, bolts 13, 13a could beotherwise attached to base plate 10 as by welding, etc. The upperends ofthe bolts are threaded and carry nuts 14, 14a upon which rest anapertured plate 15. The rail R is clamped to plate 15 by a pair ofapertured rail clips 16, 16a and nuts 17, 17a which engage the tops ofthe rail clips. A'stud. 1S, threaded at its ends, is welded to the upperend of I-beam 23 and thus extends in a direction transverse of trackRand below it. A pairof apertured plates or blocks 19, 19a are disposedon the stud, the upper portions of their confronting surfaces engagingopposite sides of the base flanges of the rail andthe lower portions ofthe same surfaces engaging opposite ends of a pair of rods 20, 20a whichareslidably carried by I-beam 23.

A. sleeper of the .type described 'is disposed adjacent each end of eachrail and at intervals of about 8 feet between the ends of rail sections.The sleepers are embedded in a concrete foundation F, generally to aboutthe depth of the top of the cross-bar 12a, and are firmly anchoredtherein by the rigid integral structure formed by the base 10, the tubes11, 11a, the bars 12, 12a, and the I-beam 23. A dowel pin 22 aligns therail head at end-s of adjacent rails where they abut.

Inspection of the drawing, taken in conjunction with the abovedescription of the present invention will make it evident that verticaland rotational adjustment of the position of the rail may be effected byvertical adjustments of the nuts, 14, 14a and 17, 17a. Equal incrementsof vertical adjustments of the nuts on bolts 13, 13a efiects movement ofthe rail in a vertical plane only and unequal adjustment effects, inaddition, rotation about a longitudinal axis. Thus, by suitableadjustment of the nuts, the rail may be raised or lowered and alsorotated so that a reference surface, such as its top surface, may bedisposed in a true horizontal plane and also at a predetermined distancefrom a straight reference line, and it should be noted that suchadjustment may be made without changing or releasing the adjustment orposition of the plates or blocks 19, 19a. Similarly, by suitableadjustment of nuts 21, 21a which engage the blocks 19, 19a, the rail maybe shifted in a horizontal plane in a direction perpendicular to itslongitudinal axis. When this adjustment is made, it will be apparentthat the bolts bend about their lower ends, the anular spaces Spermitting the bending movement. Thus, horizontal adjustments of smallamplitude may be made without changing the vertical adjustment of therail.

From the foregoing description, it is thought to be obvious thatadjustable rail sleepers constructed in accordance with the presentinvention provide a new and improved structure for better maintainingrail alignment,

for forming better aligned joints at points where rail sections abut; inwhich vertical and horizontal adjustments can be made independently ofone another, provided the adjustments are small; in which rotationaladjustment is possible; and which has fewer parts and is more simple inconstruction and less costly to manufacture than devices previously usedfor this purpose.

It should be understood, of course, that the foregoing disclosurerelates to only a preferred embodiment of the invention and that it isintended to cover all changes and modifications of the example of theinvention herein chosen for the purposes of the disclosure, which do notconstitute departures from the spirit and scope of the invention as setforth in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A rail joint comprising a pair of abutting rail sections, a pluralityof rail sleeper structures for supporting and adjustably aligning theabutting ends of said rail sections, said sleeper structures eachcomprising an integral anchoring structure, adapted to be imbedded infoundation material at positions contiguous to the point of abutment ofsaid rail ends, elongated rod means attached to said anchoringstructure, clamping means for adjustably clamping the rail to saidelongated rod means and thus to the anchoring structure, said clampingmeans comprising means for effecting vertical and rotational adjustmentof the rail position and separate means for effecting horizontaladjustment of the rail position, the said elongated rods bendinglaterally when said horizontal adjustment is made whereby suchhorizontal adjustment may be made without loosening said clamping means.

2. A sleeper for accurately aligning a rail of the railroad typecomprising a horizontal base plate to which the lower ends of a pair ofspaced vertical tubes are welded, the tubes having a pair of spacedhorizontal bars welded thereto at one side thereof and to which avertical I-section is welded midway thereof, vertical rods extendingthrough the tubes in spaced relation thereto,

the lower ends of said rods being attached to said base plate, the upperend of each rod being threaded and having a nut threaded thereon, aplate extending between the rods and having apertures through which therods extend whereby said plate rests upon said nuts, the rail beingadapted to rest upon said plate between said rods, an apertured clipdisposed on each rod adapted to engage the plate and the top of the baseflange of the rail, a second nut for each rod adapted to threadedlyengage the rod and to engage the clip carried thereby, whereby the railmay be adjusted vertically and rotated about a longitudinal axis byadjustment of the various nuts; a threaded stud secured to the upper endof the I-section and extending transversely and. below the rail, a pairof apertured blocks disposed on each end of said stud, each of saidblocks having a vertical face, the upper confronting portions of saidvertical faces being adapted to engage the side edges of the base flangeof the rail, a rod disposed parallel to said stud and slidably carriedby the Lsection and having ends in abutting relations to lower portionsof the confronting vertical faces of said apertured blocks, and a nutcarried by each end of the stud and threadedly engaging said studwhereby adjustment of said last mentioned nuts effects adjustment of therail in a horizontal direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axisthereof, the rods in said vertical tubes bending laterally within thetubes when the last named adjustment is made.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS646,400 Gipson Mar. 27, 1900 802,915 Clement Oct. 24, 1905 1,055,253Benzel Mar. 4, 1913 1,126,524 Liebman Jan. 26, 1915 1,229,900 DavenportJune 12, 1917 2,730,306 Miller Jan. 10, 1956

